War On Daddy's Dime - By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN NYT (I know, I know..Friedman) [View All]

[applegrove]

War On Daddy's Dime
New York Times

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: August 18, 2006

"I'm not sure yet who's the winner in the war between Hezbollah and Israel, but I know who's the big loser: Iran's taxpayers. What a bunch of suckers.

Isn't it obvious? As soon as the reckless war he started was over, Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared that Hezbollah would begin paying out cash to the thousands of Lebanese families whose homes were destroyed. ''We will pay compensation, a certain amount of money for every family to rent for one year, plus buy furniture for those whose homes were totally destroyed,'' said Nasrallah. ''These number 15,000.''

Nasrallah also vowed that his organization would help rebuild damaged houses and businesses, promising those affected that they will ''not need to ask anyone for money or wait in queues'' to get relief funds. To paraphrase the All-State commercial, ''You're in good hands with Hezbollah.''

But wait -- where will Hezbollah get some of the $3 billion-plus needed to rebuild Lebanon? Last time I checked, Hezbollah did not have any companies listed on the Nasdaq. The organization doesn't manufacture anything. It doesn't tax its followers. The answer, of course, is that Iran will dip into its oil income and ship cash to Nasrallah, so that he will not have to face the wrath of Lebanese for starting a war that reaped nothing but destruction.

.... SNIP"

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FB0B13FE3E5A0C7B8DDDA10894DE404482